Emergency visa for my father

[SalishSea 16,901]

13 minutes ago, NorthByNorthwest said:

As others have pointed out - this will get very expensive. For US citizens/residents there is a requirement for medical insurers to offer insurance even with pre-existing conditions - this does not apply to travel insurance for foreigners. Chances are you will not be able to buy any insurance that covers his current medical conditions, much better to spend the same money on home country treatment.

Plus, travel medical insurance does not cover routine stuff that a tourist should have taken care of before departing for their vacation.   It is for catastrophic coverage.

[Boiler 43,745]

14 minutes ago, MMRF said:

He's not immigrating though. He's just looking to visit. If any tourist could just hop on these, don't you think they would dip in and out of the US and get 10's of thousand of dollars in treatment for free?

 

Edit: I think OP is asking about a tourist visa for medical purposes but it's not actually not clear if he could be asking about expediting permanent residency for his father.

He said his Father is not in position to immigrate until his siblings marry.

[Ontarkie 13,960]

7 minutes ago, Boiler said:

He said his Father is not in position to immigrate until his siblings marry.

Thanks for catching this. 

 

~~Thread moved to Tourist Visas, from Bringing Family of USC- as the OP is not looking at immigration at this time.~~

 

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Ontarkie

[belinda63 2,981]

Long and short of it is if he manages to get a tourist visa you or he will have to pay all the medical expenses out of pocket. So you are looking at thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars for his medical care depending on what the issues are. He is not eligible for Medicare/Medicaid/ACA or any other US insurance as he will be a tourist and not a resident (and other reasons).

[Boiler 43,745]

There may be people on here who have a better idea of non insurance costs, I just assumed it would be very significant.

[HMM1234 19]

Thankyou everyone for your input. I was confused myself so posted to ask for your suggestions. I appreciate your time and advice.

 

Firstly, yes I want him to visit me for medical care but now I got it that he doesn't qualify for medicare or medical and I have to pay out of pocket which would be quite expensive. My bad that I didn't know about the rules and now it seems that may be it is better to get care in Pakistan due to financial aspect.

 

Secondly, Incase I just apply for a B1/B2, why would the consular think that he won't return?  I mean I can apply for his immigration but as I mentioned that I have unmarried siblings and culturally things are different in Pakistan. My siblings are above 18 but sadly dependent on my father. Then he has business there also, so he can't just come here and start living. 

 

 

[Boiler 43,745]

With the way you now describe his situation he has a reasonable chance.

[gabluc 171]

6 hours ago, Timona said:

 

I 100% doubt this story. 

Friend's parents probably didn't disclose this to IO. 

Agreed.

 

It can be interpreted as coming to work. 

[Cathi 5,624]

9 hours ago, HMM1234 said:

Hi

I am a US citizen. My father lives in another country. He has diabetes and prostate issues. I want to apply an emergency visa for him. I do understand that emergency visas are granted on medical basis, I can attach reports from his doctor with the emergency request, but my question is that how will it work here in US? 

1. Do I need a doctor here as well before his arrival?

2. Do I need to buy insurance for him? Or he will qualify for medicare here? He is above 70.

3. Should I take the emergency route or should I call him on B1/B2? 

 

Plz guide, lot of confusions in my mind.

I would really appreciate if someone can guide in this regard.

Why would you think that he qualifies for Medicare? Medicare is for U.S citizens & legal residents only. And even at that, he would have to pay 40 quarters (10 years) into payroll taxes to qualify. You would have to pay  100% out of pocket.

No such thing as an "emergency visa" and the likelihood of getting a visitor visa at his age, with child who's a citizen, coming here to seek medical treatment, is just about zero. The CO will see immigrant intent written all over it. Getting a visa from Pakistan in any category is extremely difficult for even easy, straightforward cases. the documentation alone that they would require just to begin with, would be astronomical. Even if there was an emergency visa (there isn't), diabetes and prostate issues are not an emergency. Both are very treatable, no matter where you're from. Just stating facts.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Cathi

[SalishSea 16,901]

4 hours ago, HMM1234 said:

Thankyou everyone for your input. I was confused myself so posted to ask for your suggestions. I appreciate your time and advice.

 

Firstly, yes I want him to visit me for medical care but now I got it that he doesn't qualify for medicare or medical and I have to pay out of pocket which would be quite expensive. My bad that I didn't know about the rules and now it seems that may be it is better to get care in Pakistan due to financial aspect.

 

Secondly, Incase I just apply for a B1/B2, why would the consular think that he won't return?  I mean I can apply for his immigration but as I mentioned that I have unmarried siblings and culturally things are different in Pakistan. My siblings are above 18 but sadly dependent on my father. Then he has business there also, so he can't just come here and start living. 

 

 

Btw, if you are thinking to eventually petition him, you’ll want to have a solid plan in place to pay for his health care here in the US.  

 

Being that he’s already 70, he may not qualify for Medicare until he’s 80 or older.   People in that age group are high users of the health care system.  
 

You’ll want to plan on paying $1k+/month for insurance premiums, not including the out of pocket.

[Crazy Cat 39,658]

11 hours ago, HMM1234 said:

Incase I just apply for a B1/B2, why would the consular think that he won't return?

You are a US citizen.  He is an immediate relative of a US citizen.  Consulate officers, by law, must assume that anyone (especially an immediate relative) who applies for a B2 visa has intent to immigrate illegally.  The number one reason for visitor visa denials is lack of strong ties to home country.  If his DS-160 can adequately show very strong ties to home, then maybe the CO will approve.  I have my doubts, but he is free to apply.  

[HMM1234 19]

Thanks for sharing your point of view Cathy. As I mentioned, my lack of knowledge made me think that I might be able to get Medicare or Medi cal for him. Anyways, I ll try B1 first and see if he can visit me. If not, I might apply for his immigration in a few years if life permits. 

 

Thank you for your guidance everyone.<3 

[Boiler 43,745]

18 minutes ago, HMM1234 said:

Thanks for sharing your point of view Cathy. As I mentioned, my lack of knowledge made me think that I might be able to get Medicare or Medi cal for him. Anyways, I ll try B1 first and see if he can visit me. If not, I might apply for his immigration in a few years if life permits. 

 

Thank you for your guidance everyone.<3 

It is B2, usually issued as B1/2 and something he can do himself.

[flicks1998 1,044]

I work in a large medical center and we routinely have people from overseas fly to the US for medical care.  In fact it occurs daily and even during the peak of Covid, we were still able to fly people in and out of the country despite logistics becoming more difficult and travel bans in place.  Their was always an unwritten rule that the travel bans never applied for people seeking medical help or care.

 

If a person does not have a current B visa, all Embassies will issue these for proven medical needs which is typically having a letter from the local doctor, course of treatment, as well as how the services will be paid.  One of our divisions is our health plan and some patients living overseas have insurance through our health plan (not sure how they obtained it) or many would just pay out of pocket.  The ones paying out of pocket would get a list of charges from the US hospital/doctor and that would be submitted when applying for the B visa.  Exceptions will always be made for people who are in need of urgent medical care and they can prove they can pay.  There are alot of people around the world with the financial means to pay for medical services in the US without any US health insurance.   

[Adventine 3,187]

I agree that many people can afford to pay for medical in the US. However, since OP was asking if their father would qualify for Medicare or Medi-Cal, I assumed they are not that rich.